Encyclopedia.com > Encyclopedias, Almanacs, Transcripts, and Maps > The Oxford Companion to Irish History

éraic

The Oxford Companion to Irish History | 2007 | 700+ words | Copyright

éraic, literally ‘pay‐out’, was an early Irish term for the wergild paid to the agnatic kin of a man killed intentionally but not secretly. While lóg n‐enech (‘face‐value’, see enech) was paid to kinsmen, both patrilineal and matrilineal, in amounts varying according to the individual kinsman's status and his proximity to the dead man, the éraic was paid to the derbfhine (kin group) and was a fixed sum of seven cumala (‘slave‐women’) or the equivalent. A client's lord was entitled to a third of the éraic. For a woman the definition of those who received éraic if she were killed depended on the status of her marital union.

Thomas M. Charles‐Edwards

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

  • MLA
  • Chicago
  • APA

"éraic." The Oxford Companion to Irish History. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 29 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"éraic." The Oxford Companion to Irish History. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 29, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O245-raic.html

"éraic." The Oxford Companion to Irish History. 2007. Retrieved May 29, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O245-raic.html

Learn more about citation styles

Find thousands of answers for hundreds of subjects at Answers Encyclopedia .

All answers verified by trusted sources at Encyclopedia.com

Try Answers Encyclopedia now!

For students and teachers!

Encyclopedia.com provides students and teachers facts, information, and biographies from verified, citable sources, including:

Encyclopedia.com provides students and teachers facts, information, and biographies from verified, citable sources, including: